We have an amazing team who are committed to bringing mindfulness to more children and more schools:
Emily Slater
Chief Executive Officer
Emily Slater
Emily joined MiSP in September 2021 from her role as CEO and co-founder of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance. Emily is responsible for all aspects of the charity on a day-to-day basis, she works closely with the Board of Trustees to develop strategy and ensure that the charity delivers maximum impact for beneficiaries.
Ben Chalwin
Head of Education and Training
Ben Chalwin
Ben joined MiSP in 2017 and leads on curricula and training, supporting our Associate Trainers and developing new materials. He also runs our Hub Practice Groups, delivers many of our information sessions and regularly teaches our courses.
Faiy Rushton
Education and Training Development Manager
Faiy Rushton
Faiy joined the MISP team in 2021; her role includes supporting staff, senior leaders and schools in introducing, developing and embedding mindfulness in educational settings. She is a qualified secondary school teacher, BAMBA listed adult mindfulness teacher and Specialist Leader of Education for Wellbeing and Inclusion. Faiy has also worked on the training teams for the full range of MISP curricula since 2015.
Jenny Brown
Training and Team Officer
Jenny Brown
Jenny joined MiSP in 2021 and is responsible for setting up courses and events. She supports the team with course logistics and liaises with course participants before and after their courses providing support, information and next steps.
Our Trustees
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall control and strategic direction of the charity. Our trustees are all volunteers who freely give their skills and experience to ensure the charity provides impact for its beneficiaries. All are motivated by a keen desire to help others and give back.
Richard Burnett
Chair
Richard is co-founder of Mindfulness in Schools Project and co-wrote .b, as well as other MiSP curricula. He is a teacher at Tonbridge School and has taught mindfulness to well over a thousand adolescents, as well as to many school staff and school parents.
Alan Lee
Alan is the CEO of Bedfordshire Schools Trust (BEST), a National Leader of Education and a former Lead Ofsted Inspector. In 2010, Alan was awarded the University Council for Educational Administration’s (UCEA) Award for Excellence. Alan’s doctoral thesis was the BELMAS (British Educational Leadership and Educational Research Society) Runner-Up 2009.
David Bleakney
David joined as a Trustee in June 2019 bringing financial expertise to the Board. After qualifying as an accountant with PwC, he worked for ten years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In recent years he has completed a number of interim and consulting assignments in the charity and education sectors.
Jason Steele
Jason is founder and CEO of Raise the Youth, a not-for-profit social enterprise. He is dedicated to equipping children and young people with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are taught in MiSP’s mindfulness curricula, to promote health and wellbeing in children, young people, and those that care for them.
Maureen MacLeod
Vice Chair
Maureen has extensive experience in both the commercial and charity sectors. Following a successful 25-year career as a Senior HR Director with American Express, Maureen was Chair of Two Ridings Community Foundation based in York before relocating to East Sussex. She joined the MiSP Board in 2017 and is our Vice Chair.
Natalie Dunn
Nat brings extensive experience in Marketing, Digital and Customer Experience to the board from her Retail leadership roles at Sainsbury’s over the last 20 years. She thrives on her passion for coaching others and helping them take positive action to develop both personally and professionally.
Secil Muderrisoglu
Secil is Head of Brand Research at nfpSynergy, a research consultancy that provides insights to help charities thrive. Secil previously worked as a Social Policy and Research Officer at the Ethnic Minority Foundation, where she focused on gender and global health issues.